Visa shares plunged over 5% as the U.S. Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against the company Tuesday, alleging it has illegally monopolized the debit card market by eliminating choice for banks and businesses and stifling competition from new entrants.
Over 60% of the more than $4 trillion in debit transactions that take place in the U.S. every year are routed to Visa’s electronic payments network, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a press conference Tuesday afternoon. The DOJ has alleged Visa uses that leverage to deploy a web of anticompetitive agreements that penalize merchants and banks for using competing payment networks.
